Sunday, May 24, 2015

Lessons Learned

Originally written on 4/23/15

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1. Be grateful for EVERYTHING- If I had just been grateful for the head's up
that my flight was delayed, I would have gotten up at the same time and
took care of some things for 90 minutes at the airport instead of being
sluggish and going back to sleep.

2. Never take no for an answer
- U.S. Airways wouldn't sell me a ticket originally because the plane
had 50 seats and 50 people checked in. Meanwhile there were 4-5 empty
seats on the plane when the door was about to close.

3. ALWAYS have a list -
I got a little cocky since this was my third trip in two weeks AND I
had car service coming to get me, so I didn't have to stress about being
on-time and such. I forgot so many things that ended up costing me
um... close to $800 in flights, Uber, the Verizon store and overdraft
fees. I have GOT to do better.

4. Let Go and Let God - I
had ample opportunity to get on social media and complain. To curse the
air to claim Murphy's law and just give up. But I know everything
happens for a reason and I also know I don't control ANYTHING except my
own actions. I make mistakes (leaving my ID at home to start) and maybe
this situation will help me be compassionate to others who make mistakes
that affect me in the future.

5. Don't take your day out on other people
- Despite being really angry with myself, I still had a delightful
conversation with my Uber driver. There was no reason to be mad or mean
towards him (or anyone else, even though I REALLY wanted to be) and that
conversation made my day better. PLUS we talked about Pittsbugh
restaurants and I added a new one to my list.

6. People/companies deserve a second chance.
I wrote a whole post about hating Delta and I DID based on a horrific
experience I had with them years back. BUT After missing my flight, I
called Delta to make sure I was still on the outbound flight and asked
about a refund for the inbound. They gave it to me (#NeverHappens) and
now I have essentially a free flight to take wherever I want, which is
an awesome silver lining. They have roomier seats than other airlines,
cheaper prices on last minute flights and really good Biscotti. While
I'm a still bull-headed Taurus, I'm proud of my ability to reconsider
what I once thought to be true.

7. Bring Your Own Dough - Even if the company is sponsoring the trip, bring your own money. The $72 I just spent in overdraft fees is money I can never get back. I had been doing so well this year too. I was trying to go a whole year without overdraft fees. You know, act as a responsible, checkbook-balancing adult. Ah well, reset.

Welcome!

I always had a plethora of Facebook notes, so I figured it was time to cross over into the blogosphere. Here I talk about everything from paying down debt (First credit cards, then student loans) to relationships to politics (Go PRESIDENT Obama!) to sports (GO BEARS!) to sermon notes to people and things that irk me to the random moments that make up my extremely blessed life.

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